Scientists have discovered a massive 200-kilometre (124-mile) impact zone in the Australian outback they believe was caused by an asteroid which smashed into Earth more than 300 million years ago.

Andrew Glikson, a visiting fellow at the Australian National University, said the asteroid measuring 10 to 20 kilometres in diameter was a giant compared to the plunging meteor which exploded above Russia a week ago.

That event set off a shockwave that shattered windows and hurt almost 1,000 people in the Urals city of Chelyabinsk, but Glikson said the consequences of the Australian event would have been global.

“This is a new discovery,” Glikson told AFP on Wednesday of the impact zone in South Australia’s East Warburton Basin.